Bass Guimet handed the thick manila envelope to Zhuang Rui, saying, "Mr. Zhuang, the lists of items that the Freys donated to the Guimet Museum and the Louvre respectively are all in here. Please take a look..."
Bass had his people search for a long time at noon before finally finding the document in the archives. He didn't even have time to look at it himself before Zhuang Rui and the others arrived.
Zhuang Rui took the kraft paper bag and could feel a thin layer of dust on its surface, indicating that the large bag of files had been sealed away for a long time.
Taking a deep breath, Zhuang Rui slowly opened the brown paper bag. In that instant, Zhuang Rui felt as if he had opened a door, a door leading to the Yuanmingyuan, which had burned fiercely a hundred years ago. The destruction of the Yuanmingyuan ruins made many historical events unverifiable, and the lost Chinese antiques and cultural relics from various dynasties became a mystery. How much was looted by the Eight-Nation Alliance remains a highly controversial topic in China to this day.
However, Zhuang Rui now feels that he has touched upon the history of that time. Although it was only one country that invaded China at that time, the conclusions he draws from it are believed to be more accurate than the guesses of those experts in China.
Opening the sealed dossier, Zhuang Rui reached inside and took out a thick stack of documents. Through the light shining in through the bright glass window, Zhuang Rui could clearly see that the top document was a government decree written in both English and French, and at the signature below was the famous General de Gaulle.
After carefully examining the contents of this decree, I found that it was the original archive of then-French President Charles de Gaulle accepting Chinese cultural relics donated by Frey, with the donated items spanning from 1914 to 1934.
However, the decree was signed during de Gaulle's rule, after 1945, possibly when the Louvre transferred the document to the Guimet Museum. It also bears the signature of Frey's widow.
Putting everything else aside, this slightly yellowed piece of paper alone can be considered an antique. These things, which once recorded a certain period of history, are of great research and collection value in the eyes of historians.
Just like imperial edicts in ancient China, those that have survived to this day are all priceless cultural relics.
Zhuang Rui carefully set aside the decree with de Gaulle's signature and continued reading. The next seven or eight pages were letters, including correspondence between Frey and the directors of the Louvre and the Guimet Museum at the time.
However, all of these letters were written in French. If Qin Xuanbing, who was beside him, hadn't been able to read French, Zhuang Rui really wouldn't have been able to understand what was written on them.
As Qin Xuanbing translated, Zhuang Rui and Huangfu Yun's expressions turned rather unpleasant, because in a letter from Frey to the then director of the Guimet Museum in 1914, he wrote: "These Oriental artworks I possess all come from the main hall of the Shouhuang Hall, one of the halls in Beijing where ancestral emperors were worshipped... the location of the headquarters of the French Expeditionary Force."
Looking at these letters from the parties involved a century ago, Zhuang Rui and Huangfu Yun were filled with mixed feelings. A strong country makes its people strong, and a weak country makes its people weak. In Zhuang Rui's eyes, these things were extremely dishonorable, but in the hearts of those invaders, they were probably things they were proud of and would boast about for the rest of their lives.
Shaking his head, Zhuang Rui skipped over the letter and let Qin Xuanbing continue her explanation.
After listening to Qin Xuanbing's explanation word by word, Zhuang Rui finally understood the whole story of the Frey family and their relatives donating some Chinese artworks. Some questions that had puzzled many experts in China were also answered in these letters.
Since the 1980s, the origins of oil paintings depicting Qing Dynasty emperors and concubines appearing at international auctions have remained shrouded in mystery and unknown to the world, leading to numerous speculations about their origins.
However, through these letters, it is clear that all the oil portraits were painted by the Frey family. In addition to those donated to the museum, more than 10 portraits of Qing emperors and concubines have entered the international auction market.
The Frey family donated 18 Chinese artworks to the Guimet Museum and the Louvre, and among these 18 masterpieces, three are oil paintings by Giuseppe Castiglione: four scrolls of "Magnolia," "Kazakh Tribute Horses," and the first scroll of "Emperor Kangxi's Southern Inspection Tour."
In addition, there are nine other portrait oil paintings of Emperor Qianlong and his consorts painted in a Western style by several other court painters. These are rare Qing Dynasty imperial oil paintings in the National Palace Museums in Beijing and Taiwan. The Guimet Museum has as many as twelve of them.
Zhuang Rui sighed inwardly. Because so few Qing Dynasty oil paintings have survived, scholars and experts in China who study such works have almost no materials to refer to or compare with. If he could bring these paintings back, he would surely be able to fill a gap in the history of Chinese art.
The remaining artworks on the list are mostly ancient Chinese paintings, but the author's name is always written as "unknown". There are also twelve sets of jade seals with the inscription "Peiwenzhai" used by Emperor Kangxi and a seal with the inscription "Treasure of the Supreme Emperor" by Emperor Qianlong.
These things were also very precious to Zhuang Rui. Among the emperors of China's history, apart from Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, who was imprisoned by his son and served as the retired emperor for a few years, and Emperor Huizong of Song, who was a lively father and son, the only other emperor who served as the retired emperor was Emperor Qianlong. His seal should be quite valuable for collection.
After reviewing the list, Zhuang Rui looked up at Bass and said, "Mr. Bass, if I may be so bold as to ask, it seems that none of the works on this list are in your exhibition booth..."
Although Zhuang Rui has not yet seen the actual items, in his mind, these objects are all priceless treasures. Zhuang Rui doesn't know why the Guimet Museum doesn't exhibit them. If they had ever appeared in the museum, he believes that news of them would have spread throughout China long ago.
"Ahem, Mr. Zhuang, you must know that our museum has tens of thousands of artworks from the East, but we don't have enough display space... so many of our pieces never get the chance to appear in the museum..."
After hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Bas Guimet coughed a few times awkwardly. In fact, he only told half the story. The Guimet Museum does have a rich collection, but the main reason why these oil paintings and jade seals are not displayed in the museum is that the museum does not attach much importance to them.
Europeans have never appreciated ancient Chinese paintings. In their view, those abstract paintings are devoid of beauty, the figures are all the same with unclear facial expressions, and the landscapes are blurry and indistinct, making them far less pleasing to the eye than European realist paintings.
Therefore, in the early years, the prices of ancient Chinese paintings on the international market were not very high, and foreign collectors did not pay much attention to collecting Chinese paintings. Even if they did, they were mostly collected by overseas Chinese.
It wasn't until recent years, with the emergence of some Chinese oil painting masters, such as Chen Yifei, in the international market, that ancient paintings began to receive some recognition and were subject to price speculation by speculators in the international art market.
Conversely, Chinese bronzes, jade artifacts, and Buddhist sculptures have always been highly sought after by foreign collectors. As a result, these items have a much greater chance of being exhibited than calligraphy and paintings. Consequently, most of what Zhuang Rui saw at the Guimet Museum consisted of these items.
To put it bluntly, these Qing Dynasty collections donated by Frey have been stored in the Guimet Museum's warehouse for more than half a century. If it weren't for Zhuang Rui's request, it's possible that they would never see the light of day again in another half a century.
Upon hearing Bas Guimet's words, Zhuang Rui and Huangfu Yun exchanged a glance, both understanding perfectly that the Guimet Museum's actions clearly demonstrated that these artifacts did not hold a particularly important place in their hearts.
After thinking for a moment, Zhuang Rui turned his gaze to Bass and said, "Mr. Bass, these paintings and calligraphy donated by Frey were looted from the Yuanmingyuan in our country. I think they can be part of this transaction. In addition, I would like to select a few pieces from the artworks exhibited in your museum. What do you think?"
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui offer his terms, Bass, who had been relaxed, sat up straight, but his brows furrowed as Zhuang Rui spoke.
"Mr. Zhuang, could you please provide a few Picasso works for this exchange of collections?"
Zhuang Rui immediately demanded to exchange all of Frey's donated items and even requested to select several pieces from the museum's collection of artworks. This was unacceptable to Bass. After all, the antiques displayed in the museum were the finest of the finest. Even if Bass were willing, there would likely be dissenting voices within the board of directors.
"Five," Zhuang Rui said, holding up one hand. "I will offer five of Mr. Picasso's drawings in exchange for these 18 Chinese artworks donated by Frey. In addition, I will choose three more items from the museum..."
"Oh no... impossible, my God, Mr. Zhuang, your proposal is practically robbery, it's absolutely impossible..."
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Bass Gimmick suddenly stood up from the sofa, his face full of disbelief. Although he was willing to give up those donated items from Frey, he never expected that Zhuang Rui would only be willing to give up five Picasso sketches.
This is quite different from what Bass Gimmick had expected.
Chapter 641 Rare Goods for Hoarding (6)
“Mr. Bass, please calm down, sit down and let’s talk…”
Zhuang Rui's demeanor at this moment was hardly that of a young man in his twenties. It was as if he and the indignant Bass Jimmy had confused their ages. He gently waved his hand, inviting Bass to sit down.
“Mr. Zhuang, I am very sincere in discussing the exchange of these artworks with you, but unfortunately, I don’t hear much sincerity in your words. Could you please explain why?”
Bass Gimmick's actions just now were half genuine, and the other half were merely an act.
Bass is in charge of the museum's operations and sometimes participates in auctions to acquire items, so he is no stranger to commercial activities. He was simply expressing his dissatisfaction through his actions to put some psychological pressure on the young man sitting opposite him.
"Heh, does Bass perhaps want to exchange a Picasso sketch for an ancient Chinese painting?"
Zhuang Rui let out a laugh, and the disdain in his laughter clearly reached Bass's ears.
Before Bass Guimet could answer, Zhuang Rui continued, "Mr. Bass, do you know the auction price of Picasso's most expensive oil painting?"
Bass paused for a moment upon hearing this, then subconsciously replied, "Of course I know. Picasso's 'Boy with a Pipe' sold for $104.16 million, which is a world record for a painting at auction, and it is also the most expensive painting in the world." Not to mention Bass, who is the curator of a museum, anyone with a little knowledge of art would know this common knowledge. Bass answered very smoothly, but after he finished speaking, he vaguely felt that something was wrong.
“That’s right, Mr. Bass, you are absolutely correct…”
Zhuang Rui snapped his fingers with a smile, giving Bass the feeling that he was being led by the nose, which made Bass very uncomfortable.
"But Mr. Bass, you may not know that the highest price ever paid for a Chinese oil painting at auction was only a little over 4 million US dollars. That was Chen Yifei's 'Ode to the Yellow River' (Xu Beihong's painting that sold for 72 million RMB was sold in 2007, so the date doesn't match, and we'll use Chen Yifei's instead). I don't need to compare the prices of Chinese oil paintings with those of Picasso, do I?"
Zhuang Rui's words left Bass speechless. The price difference was outrageous; on the surface, the price of a Chinese painting was not even a fraction of that of a Picasso.
"Furthermore, I would like to tell you that you should not assume that Chinese artworks are very expensive. Excluding calligraphy and paintings, the highest price ever paid for a Chinese artwork at auction on the international market was HK$41.5 million. This happened at a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong in 2003."
That Qing Dynasty Yongzheng period "Famille Rose Bat and Peach Olive Vase" worth over HK$40 million already represents the highest artistic achievement in China. Mr. Bass, is it possible that you believe your museum's collection is even better than that exquisite porcelain piece?
Before Bass could react, Zhuang Rui added fuel to the fire, making Bass a little dizzy. If Zhuang Rui's calculations were correct, it seemed that Bass had gotten a great deal by exchanging five Picasso sketches for more than ten Chinese artworks.
However, Bass had a nagging feeling that something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he interrupted Zhuang Rui, saying, "Mr. Zhuang, you can't calculate it like that. Every work of art has its unique aspects, and the Picasso work you own is just a sketch, not an oil painting..."
"No...no, Mr. Bass, have you forgotten? Picasso's works, whether oil paintings, drawings or prints, are all unique."
Furthermore, on this planet, the number of people who appreciate Picasso's works far exceeds the number of people who like those old paintings that you've kept in your warehouse for decades.
"Well, in terms of value alone, the oil paintings in your collection are worth at most a few hundred thousand dollars each, but these drawings by Mr. Picasso are worth at least three million dollars each. And these drawings are from a single project, with the child model being the same person; their value must be even higher, right?"
Zhuang Rui did not intend to belittle the works of Chinese artists in order to raise his own prices, but what he said was true. The hype surrounding Chinese court paintings began at the end of 2006, while it was only 2005 now. The prices of Qing court paintings were still relatively low in the international market.
Zhuang Rui's analysis silenced Bass Guimet completely. Zhuang Rui was right. In terms of influence alone, his ancient Chinese paintings stored in the warehouse were indeed no match for Picasso's works; the two were simply not in the same league.
In terms of the future benefits that both will generate, Bass certainly favors Picasso's works. He would never believe that exhibiting oil paintings of Qing court officials dressed in strange clothes in a museum would attract tourists to spend 9 euros to enter the museum more than Picasso's sketches.
“Mr. Zhuang, I admit that what you said makes a lot of sense, but the Guimet Museum is a semi-private museum, with half of its ownership belonging to the state. If you want to exchange collections with outsiders, you must go through the National Art Appraisal Association to assess the value of the items to be traded. Since you want to exchange too many items, I'm afraid the appraisal association will not agree and approve it…”
From Bass's perspective, he has now basically accepted the deal. However, as a business transaction, Bass still needs to make an effort to secure the best possible benefits for his side.
"Oh, Mr. Bass, isn't this the problem you've been looking for? I don't know who would be unwilling to exchange some of their stock of Oriental art for a work by Picasso..."
Zhuang Rui laughed and passed the buck back to his country. "What does your National Art Appraisal Association's business have to do with me? Whether you can resolve it or not is your own problem."
Moreover, Zhuang Rui insisted on the word "inventory," constantly implying to Bass, both verbally and psychologically, that the things Bass collected were worthless and far inferior to the Picasso sketches in his possession, which could generate profits immediately.
"I see..."
Bass lowered his head and began to calculate in his mind.
Zhuang Rui wasn't in a hurry. He was drinking coffee and chatting with Huangfu Yun and Qin Xuanbing. He now understood how sought-after Picasso's works were in the international market. As long as he had the goods, he wasn't afraid that others wouldn't rush to trade with him.
Although Zhuang Rui only offered to exchange 21 Chinese cultural relics, he was actually guaranteed to make a profit. For example, the "Mulan" scroll from the Kangxi period is a large-scale painting and calligraphy work that is more than one meter wide and more than 10 meters long. Even in the history of world painting, it is extremely rare.
Even Zhuang Rui himself was unaware that a year or two later, a group of international antique dealers and auction houses began to speculate on Chinese artworks. They used a trick called "rolling balls on a plate" to first drive up prices in the international market and then sell them to domestic collectors at high prices.
This behavior by international speculators kept the prices of Chinese artworks high in the international market from 2006 to 2010.
If Zhuang Rui had brought Picasso's works to Bass to negotiate a deal back then, let alone exchanging one for five or six Chinese antiques, even if it were one for two, Bass might not have paid him any attention.
"Mr. Zhuang, how about this? You can first tell me what three other Eastern artworks you would like to receive besides the items donated by Frey. I will submit your suggestions to the board of directors for discussion. The exchange of collections involves a series of procedures, and it will probably take more than a month to complete..."
Because Picasso's works have appeared so rarely in recent years, they were too tempting for Bass. After pondering for a while, Bass made up his mind, looked up and told Zhuang Rui his thoughts.
"One month? Exchange of collections? Mr. Bass, what's going on?"
Zhuang Rui didn't quite understand what Bass meant. In his mind, if he sketched the other party's portrait and the other party gave him the Chinese antiques he needed, wouldn't the transaction be complete?
"Zhuang Rui, the items in these semi-private museums are absolutely not allowed to enter the market for circulation, auction, or trading. They can only be traded as donations to other museums. It's not as simple as you think..."
The person who answered Zhuang Rui was Huangfu Yun, who was extremely knowledgeable about museums and auction houses in Europe and America. Private museums did not have these restrictions, but for the Guimet Museum, which was integrated into the French museums in 1945, there were many restrictions.
Even if the Guimet Museum agrees to exchange the Zhuang Rui collection, the details still need to be reported to the French government for official approval. Of course, at that point, it will just be a formality.
"Damn it, where do I have a museum? Mr. Bath, if you do this... if you do this, we can't talk at all..."
Upon hearing this, Zhuang Rui immediately became anxious. With his current collection, he was still a long way from meeting the requirements for opening a museum. Wasn't this asking too much of him?
"Hey bro, what's all the excitement about? Opening a museum isn't that hard. China opened it up back in 1996. Just go back and apply for one, and you're all set..."
Huangfu Yun patted Zhuang Rui on the shoulder to reassure him. Based on Huangfu Yun's own understanding, there are at least 50 private museums in China. With Zhuang Rui's financial resources, it shouldn't be a problem.
Chapter 642 An Exorbitant Demand
Is it as simple as you say?
Zhuang Rui rolled his eyes. Although he had thought about opening a museum before, it was just a thought. In Zhuang Rui's opinion, being able to open a private museum would be an amazing thing.
In fact, it has only been a little over a year since Zhuang Rui's eyes began to change last year. At times, his consciousness is still stuck in the perspective of an ordinary person, or rather, Zhuang Rui longs to live an ordinary life. He does not realize that he can now change many people and things.
Moreover, this change is actually happening. From the auto repair shop in Pengcheng to the 4S dealership, and from the mastiff farm to "Xuanrui Zhai" in Beijing, as well as the Xinjiang jade mine and the Myanmar jade mine, Zhuang Rui's status and position have been quietly changing without him even realizing it.
Buying an airplane is something that can be done with money, but opening a museum requires approval and various procedures. Zhuang Rui's main concern is that he doesn't have enough connections and his collection is too small.